The maze beyond the gaze

In todays project presented by Berta Ferrer and Kim Marshall, we explored concepts of what a book is and what makes a book? Whether it be how it looks, the content it withholds or another aspect. We discussed how it doesn’t have to abide by the traditional format that we are used to seeing in our everyday lives. Through exploring various artists such as  Tom Philips and Alberto Hanadez, we were given an insight, which provided us with some inspiration, on how to transform our books narrative from ordinary words on paper, into a visual  narrative.  Alberto Hanadez for example, displayed the novella, Jekyll and Hyde’s narrative by dividing the core pages in to two, visually representing the split identity of the main character.

I decided to explore the theme of ‘Labyrinth’ by sketching ideas on how to represent the narrative of a family moving into an ordinary house and how they uncover it isn’t what it seems. I played with the idea of making the cover into an actual house, which I did through using a craft knife to shape a roof and windows, along with a physically operating door. I decided to incorporate the physically operated door and gaps in the cover to allow the audience to take a peak into the house and see it isn’t that of a normal one. When the door is opened, you are met with a pop up speech bubble which comes from the back of the book, displaying that the family is right at the back, beginning their journey through this maze and calling out for help. To display the idea that through every door they enter, the rooms change, I created layers of pages which get deeper and smaller, displaying a never-ending affect.